When Darkness Comes
by SylverSpyder
Summary: What happens when darkness comes and the team have lost the one thing they always thought they could rely on... each other. separated into a series of short chapters from characters perspectives, each set published in a different part.
1. Part 1

Part 1:

Chapter 1: Robin

Guilt. Robin had learned to live with it. Every night when he closed his eyes, he'd see his parents faces, eyes wide in shock, mouths screaming that should be smiling, fear etched into the lines of their faces as the rope broke beneath them. His mom's hand inches from his, ready to pull him out to his place by their sides. Hands grasping at nothing. Bodies falling. Shattering. He had cheated death, that day and every day since, but now, this time, he had a chance to close those inches that separated one he loved from survival. He had a chance, to make things right.

He let go of the anti-venom, the snake bite in his arm tingling as he watched the vial begin to fall in slow motion fifty stories to the unforgiving ground, and reached out his empty hand toward the semi-conscious Wally's. For a second, he felt Wally's calloused fingers slide through his, saw the fear and pain in Wally's delirious green eyes, then his hand caught, and Wally howled in agony as his descent halted. Robin held Wally up as the grappling line retracted, breathing hard, feeling the venom from Poison Ivy's pets slither through his veins, towards his heart. The edges of his vision were tunneling, turning gray as he hoisted them farther up, his best friend slumped limp over his shoulder, convulsing occasionally in the after effects of what he had been through. Robin knew he had it in him to cheat death one last time and hoisted Wally over the edge of the building, grunting with exhaustion. The muscles in his arms were shaking with agony. Then, he fell, losing his grip on the grappling hook and tumbling out into him, Wally shifted. Robin smiled as he blacked out, plummeting towards his death. He had finally had a chance for redemption.

Chapter 2:  
>Wally<p>

Wally moaned as he landed on top of the building and returned brutally to consciousness. Where was he? His throat was hoarse and brought up terrible memories of that first mission with Artemis, in the pool, unable to breathe, water filling his lungs, M'gann's lips pressed to his, pounding painfully on his chest, forcing air into his lungs, his throat scratched and... There was a scream echoing inside and outside of his battered skull. A cry for help. Moving seemed impossible. It was as if he still had on the helmet of Dr. Fate. He turned his head towards the noise, throbbing in protest of the movement, finding himself looking down the edge of a skyscraper to see Robin in the air. Something bumped Wally's hand. Robin's grappling hook. Robin was tumbling helplessly toward the ground, free-falling.

Chapter 3:  
>Artemis<p>

Artemis fought the chains that held her in place as she watched Wally fall. Trying to rescue her. She screamed, the sound like an animal's growl coming through the gag in her mouth. Wally was falling... falling... They told her this would happen, her team would die if she did not...

She hadn't believed them. Hadn't wanted to. The idea was painful, more painful than the worst torture in hell. She screamed again, knowing that all of them were dying. Dying. She remembered the sound of her mom's cries when they took her. Her mom, trapped in the burning house without her wheelchair. Her only family, all dying. M'gann, so eager to take her as a sister, and Wally... Wally was special to her. And she was afraid of the feeling. Last time, a boy had ended up dead by her hand. A boy she loved. All to gain her father's favor, and he had paid her back with this.

Her tortured yells faded as she watched the horror movie of her team play out in front of her, the only sight in the darkness of the room. She was unable to tear her eyes away. She watched as Robin dropped the antivenom and knew, with finality, that another one of them had just chosen inevitable death. A while longer, and they'd all be gone, leaving her to her pain.

Chapter 4:  
>After<p>

The tall figures of the Flash and Batman stood out in the graveyard. The open graves in front of them were slowly filling with dirt. The thump of shovels was loud in the silence.

Chapter 5: Kaldur

The hot sides of the metal container seemed to press in on Kaldur. He could hear M'gann screaming outside, but the only thing he could think of was the heat. Death must feel like this. Hell. Hell would be hot. Burning.

Kaldur stumbled, breathing through his mouth, gills moving uselessly in the dry air as his mouth dried in the rising temperatures. He couldn't even scream, scream to M'gann that he was sorry, that the worst was knowing that he had failed. He'd tried so hard, been through so much, and he had cost his team their lives. Artemis would never be rescued, and he was trapped. The fortune-teller had been right. He'd lose everything he loved, and it would be his fault. Failure and shame rushed through him, and he was reminded of Thula. Of loving her and Garth's smile as he took her way from him, of all the things he'd lost. His mother and his father. No! Don't think about them! They'd be ashamed. Ashamed of their son. They all would, even his King, who would never know how much Kaldur respected him. Sweat poured from Kaldur's brow as he broke down to the sound of M'gann screaming.

Chapter 6: M'gann

They were hurting M'gann. They were hurting her. She was in a box. Pain and mentally communicated images of fire that filled her mind made it hard to think. Every time she tried to shift, the box would shift, too, becoming filled around her with some new method of torture. Fire. Drowning. Burning. Stabbing. Whipping. Acid. Screaming.

For the first time in her life, M'gann needed rescuing, but beneath the fear of the pain and the flames was another fear, the fear that no one was coming. No one was left to come and no one cared. After all, it's not like there weren't plenty to take her place. Any of her many sisters could impersonate her and no one would notice the difference. Even Superboy, no matter how much she wished he would care, that he would notice, never would.

M'gann wished, wished that she were dead, but the pain continued. Soon there was nothing but the pain, and, for the first time, M'gann couldn't even imagine a future, a happy future with the team by her side, people to whom her life meant something. All that was and all that would be was the excruciating torture.

Chapter 7:  
>Superboy<p>

The man was smiling. Smiling at Superboy. Superby growled through the hologram of M'gann's cage, wanting to lunge forward, to do something, but he was powerless for in the man's hand was a remote and even the slightest pressure would mean death for M'gann, the only one who ever understood him, or one of their other teammates, the only people who had never given up on him, the people who had freed him and given him a chance to live. If the man held only Superboy's life, he wouldn't have hesitated. After all, he was not unique or special, he was just a clone, and not a very good one at that. Besides, his life was his to give. "You have a choice." The man's voice was misleadingly pleasant. Superboy hated that voice. Hated above all else. "If you save the girl, you will die. She is trapped within a cage of magically enhanced kryptonite, but..." he pointed behind him to the plasma screens filled with pictures of his other team mates, his family. "you will live long enough to see one of the others die in her place. Or..." the the voice paused as the man pressed a button and M'gann's face appeared, twisted in agony. "You can watch her die, and one of the others might live long enough to have a chance. Your choice..." And he laughed.

Chapter 8:  
>Artemis<p>

Artemis watched. She watched her team breaking all around her in a chorus of screams, moans, shouts, and crunching bones, remembering the words that led to this, her newest torment.

'Artemis, it seems breaking mommy wasn't enough for you, so we've provided some extra... incentive.' 


	2. Part 2

Chapter 9:

Wally

Wally was tired of just taking it. For the first nine years of his life, he had just taken it, taking his father's beatings, his mother's resentment that he wasn't his father's only target, and now, his Uncle's pity, Artemis'spite... People he loved always left him in pain, left him to patch himself up the best that he could. He struggled to his feet, glanced down at Robin's falling figure, receding into the darkness below him. He felt, through the pounding pain in his head, the edge of the building under his toes. He felt his breath catch in his chest, watching Robin, his best friend, his teammate, fall. He was losing everyone, all over again. This time, though, it was not a training excercise. But he had trained. He was ready. Ready to do what he should have done during the excersize... Watching Robin freefall, Wally let go of everything, everything he loved, the very stability that anchored him to life, and jumped, the ground rushing towards him.

Chapter 10:

After

A tear trickled down the cheek of the stoical Dark Knight as he clutched Robin's body. He had lost so much. An image of his father's body hitting the ground, eyes lifeless and arms outstretched hit had watched his parents die before his very eyes. He couldn't lose Robin, too. Dick was the son he never had, and he never would again...

Chapter 11:

Superboy

Superboy knew he had only one hope. He had never been able too... He'd always been too weak, too inferior... He must do it, for M'gann. He felt a burning sensation in his eyes, tearing into his retinas as his vision danced in an orange, fiery glow. He moaned as M'gann's cage burst into flames. A piece of Kryptonite, glowing a hellish green flew through the air and pinned his shoulder to the wall. A scream tore through his mouth. He had never felt pain like this before, like fire running through his veins. He wasn't Superman! He couldn't deal with this sort of agony. His vision began to blur, the orange hue gone. He remembered the mission, the alien invasion. He remembered his feeling of peace and realized suddenly that it wasn't about knowing how it felt to be Superman. It was about knowing that being Superman felt different, that even though he was a clone, he was different. He was Conner Kent, not Superman, and it didn't matter that he wasn't Superman anymore, because that wasn't all he could be. He was different. He didn't feel like Superman and that was okay, because he wasn't Superman. He was Conner Kent, a troubled sixteen year old in love with a Martian and best friends with a ninja and the fastest kid alive, he had a pet wolf and a magical floating sphere. He was uniquely Connor Kent. As he realized this, Connor Kent, stumbled forward, trying to ignore the gravity that suddenly seemed so strong, pulling down on his leaden limbs. He felt so weak, so human, as he gathered the limp form of M'gann in his arms, surrounded by shards of kryptonite. And he was happy to feel human, to feel at all,even if feeling was only agony, horror, and fear, for now he had his own life. His own identity. And he was not giving up. Moored in an ocean of pain, he cradled an unconscious M'gann in his arms. Both figures grew still in a suddenly overwhelming silence.

Chapter 12:

Wally

The grppling hook tightened in Wally's hand as he grabbed Robin, four stories from impact, and secured him to the line. Taking a deep breath, and praying he would not die, Wally dove for the antivenom as it headed towards the ground. At the back of his mind, a tiny voice whispered that there was only one dose, not enough. Not enough for more than one person. He ignored it. Only one person would need it.

Ten feet.

Wally struggled to make himself more aerodynamic, trying not to imagine what would happen when he hit the ground as the shiny glass siding of the building brushed past him, speeding up and slowing down in short bursts as Wally tried to focus, tried to use his speed. Seconds felt like eternity as he willed himself forward. He would not fail.

Eight feet.

He would not let himself pass out from the pain. He would make it, for Robin. No one else would leave him. Not even death could change Wally's mind. He felt a grim smile grace his face as tears streaked his cheeks and were pushed away by the wind. His dad had always complained that he was stubborn.

Six feet.

He would not resign himself to fate and let Robin die.

Four feet, six inches.

The annoying part of his brain that love math and chemicals was calculating his rate of travel. It was slowere than he could run, but he knew it was enough. The ground was so close, and the antivenom just centimeters out of reach.

Three feet.

He tapped it, the cool glass brushing against his fingers, and the change in movement made it spiral, Wally's brain breaking the spiral into fragmented slow motion images.

Two feet.

Robin dangled above him like a macabre marionette left on a single thread. Wally's fingers closed around the vial.

Impact.

Chapter 13:

Artemis

Artemis was fading. The feeling surprised her. _Keep your damn eyes open,_ a part of her insisted. _Why torture yourself_? Questioned another. _You know they... He... is going to die._ Her eyes fluttered open. He had died once without her. Whether he knew she was there or not, he would not be so alone this time.


	3. Part 3

Chapter 14:

Superboy

He stumbled forward, gravity pulling down on his limbs. He felt so weak, so human, so hopeless, reaching through the rubble and gathering M'gann in his arms.

Chapter 15:

Artemis

Artemis was fading. The feeling surprised her.

Keep your damn eyes open, some part of her insisted.

Why torture yourself, said another. You know they... He... is going to die.

Her eyes fluttered open.

Chapter 16:

Kaldur

Kaldur was weak. He knew it.

He fell to his knees, ready to give in like the failure he knew he was. He had failed his parents, his King, his team... and himself.

Suddenly a burst of flames seared his face as the wall before him exploded.

Red Arrow walked in, looking as angry and bloody as the devil himself.

_So this is hell._

* * *

><p>Chapter 17:<p>

After

At the graveside, the Flash placed an arm around Wally's shoulders. The boy winced, his injuries still paining him after six weeks.

Flash studied Wally, noting the tight grip he had on the hand of the person beside him. Artemis. She smiled tightly.

Batman turned to face the group.

"Let's go," he growled. "They deserved their deaths. They tortured you, and I, for one, will never forgive them for that."

He placed a hand on Dick's shoulder and the boy adjusted his mask, frowning at the cast on his arm. No more acrobatics for the next couple weeks. None of the team had escaped unscathed.

Across the way, Superboy was hugging M'gann, who was crying again.

_... Superman lunged forward, attempting to gather the boy in his arms. To grab him as he was suddenly hit by an inexplicable and insatiable desire to know if the boy was okay. Batman his mask damp with what no man would dare accuse of being anything other than rain, stopped him. "Kryptonite," he muttered in explanation. Superman noticed it now, the weakness that settled in his limbs as he approached the boy. His blood. Suddenly, he saw it. Whether he had wanted it or not, the boy was his blood. One of the last Kryptonians. Superman pushed past Batman. "Go to Robin, We'll survive." He met the semi-conscious Superboy's eyes. "Superboy," he started. "Conner," the teenager corrected. "Conner Kent." A smile grew over Clark's face so that he didn't even notice the arrival of the distressed J'onn or the medical team. Kryptonite or not, he gathered Conner in his arms. A hug. A distinctly human reaction. Lois would be proud..._

Kaldur looked... Different. Since the incident, he had been less stoical, easier touched.

_..."Thank you, I am in your debt," Kaldur muttered to Red Arrow, who just sighed and shook his head. "If you died, I'd have to join the team." He said by way of explanation as he flipped the Atlantean over his shoulder, carrying him away from the consuming heat. "Why?" Kaldur queried, wincing as he was jostled by Roy's movements. "Why didn't I join the team? They already have a leader, in you. They don't need another one, countermanding your orders, besides, I have documented authority issues. You, you're good for them. However, if you ever hurt my little brothers, you'll see my face and no it IS hell." Kaldur nodded solemnly in understanding. "Brothers?" "Robin has always been like a brother to me, the little Dick. And Wally? Well, Artemis and Chesire aren't the only siblings trying to keep a secret." Kaldur raised his eyebrows, coughing in the smoke. "You knew?" "Didn't you? Just... Don't tell Wally. Protect the family. That means, don't let Wally kill the green bi- Artemis. Oliver'd be pissed." Kaldur snorted..._

__One by one, the crowd dispersed. As Artemis left, adjusting her bow, she remembered...

_"I will do it," she screamed hoarsely. "I will do it in exchange for their lives..."_


End file.
